A Question of Ballot Design

With the still-recent change in voting technology in Rhode Island, it behooves advocates to keep a close eye on how ballots are designed, as we’re learning in Tiverton:

I took it as evidence that double-checking work is very important when, while creating a sample ballot to hand out at the polls, I marked the circle for the wrong budget at this year’s financial town referendum (FTR). I was tired and rushed, and it was natural to fill in the oval directly under Budget #2. Of course, it took only a moment to realize the mistake and correct the error.

However, standing outside the high school on Saturday, members of Tiverton Taxpayers Association (TTA) were actually surprised at the number of comments supporters made about how confusing the ballot was. Those comments continued after the results were announced, with people writing by email and Facebook message, even stopping us on the street.

It’s very unlikely that this confusion changed the outcome, but for the sake of completeness, we’ll be asking to take a look at the completed ballots, as well as asking the local Board of Canvassers to take steps to make the voting clearer next time.